Liverpool are reportedly set to face a blow in pursuit of Arsenal star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as the Gunners are set to enter into contract negotiations with the Englishman. Chamberlain is one of the brightest English prospects and is an extremely talented youngster, who was signed by Arsene Wenger in 2011 for around £15million.

‘The Ox’ is entering the final year of his current deal at the Emirates and hence it seemed possible to sign him at a relatively cheap price. Chamberlain has been one of the bright spots for Arsenal this season, who have had a poor season by their standards.

However, The Times claim that Arsenal are set to enter contract negotiations with the versatile midfielder. Ox also seems keen on staying at Arsenal as his comments indicated.

He had said,

“I’m not here to talk about my future, so I’ll leave that there. I have spoken to the manager a few times and he says he sees me ending up playing central. I really enjoy playing in midfield and thought this is where I want to be able to play moving forward. That is my main ambition, to end up playing there. It’s a tricky one to nail me down to one position. My attributes do go hand-in-hand with playing out wide as well. Long term, I’d hope I end up playing more central. The season has been an odd one.”

He also spoke about his team’s season and said,

“You’ve got to move forward with the other top teams and we’ve failed to do that in the league. We can’t hide from that.”

Though Arsenal are entering into negotiations with him, it is possible that he may choose not to extend his stay at the Emirates. The lack of Champions League football could be playing at the back of his mind and as a player, he should consider it as a factor as he still has a lot to achieve in his career. Arsenal seem stagnated and don’t look like they are progressing.

It would rather be a wise option for Alex to rather jump out of the ship and join a club which is rather moving forward. We are a club who are on the way up and Chamberlain would be perfect for us. He is a hard working lad and seems intelligent in his gameplay.

Do you think we’ll be able to sign Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain this summer?